Apple iPhone 7 Is Set For 7 September Launch

Steve McCaskill is editor of TechWeekEurope and ChannelBiz. He joined
as a reporter in 2011 and covers all areas of IT, with a particular interest in telecommunications, mobile and networking, along with sports technology.

As ever, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive and it is widely speculated that the standard headphone jack will be removed, requiring users to purchase wireless headphones or those that work with the Lightning port.

iPhone 7

Apple’s $3 billion takeover of Beats in 2014 was primarily motivated by a desire to acquire a music streaming service, which eventually became Apple Music, but also saw the Cupertino-based company gain a headphone and accessory business.

The firm has long eschewed standard connectors such as micro-USB and removed its previously standard 30 pin adapter for the Lightning connector with the iPhone 5, rendering some accessories useless without additional equipment. The justification was that a smaller port allowed Apple greater freedom of design.

Executives will hope the iPhone 7 will help boost smartphone sales ahead of the Christmas period. According to figures from IDC, Apple suffered its worst quarter in seven during Q2, as sales slumped 16 percent. However it is still the world’s second biggest manufacturer, with 11.8 percent of the market having shipped 40.4 million units over the three month period.

The smartphone will ship with iOS 10, which was detailed at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, and will give developers access to Siri, Messages and Maps along with a host of other updates.